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[Mercurio]

Hi guys!

I just registered he so I don't have to bother Alex on Twitter (Otherkinetic) all the time 

So I can't recall where exactly I read about the planned system for ship hardpoints but i'd rather discuss the topic now than when it's too late...

As far as I understand the ships will be limited to a certain amount of certain weapon types and I know there might be some restrictions in size too, but I (personally) favor a more liberal approach to the topic. Taking Gratuitous Space Battles as an example I wanna point out that well balanced weapons don't need any type restrictions. For example, if the player prefers to fly a ship that only sports rocket launchers, he has certain natural disadvantages (like limited ammo or slow firing speed) over a balanced mix of weapons, but might have advantages in another part of combat.

It just feels a bit limiting to your personal playstyle and strategies if you have to include weapons or gear that you dont really want or that force you to miss out on other loadouts which you could have tried without restrictions. If in the end youre going to have an open sandbox game and a lot of customization, it would be fun to just have separate hardpoints for weapons (of all types) and subsystems, in different sizes.

It makes combat more satisfying too, if your personal choice of weapons proved effective in a battle, rather than using the best weapon for each weapon type youre forced to carry. Of course a ship thats loaded with lasers will overload instantly, a macross-missile-massacre-battleship will run out of ammo quickly and can easily be countered by a ship thats loaded with point defense, but it's still fun to just go crazy with customization.

 Maybe make it possible to convert weapon hardpoints to subsystem hardpoints or different types of weapons and vice versa, for an added cost or drawback (less hull points or something like that), to allow even more diversity. As you said, it's perfectly possible in the games canon to convert a freighter into a battleship with a crude welding job.


Feel free to add and comment...

[Alex]

Hi there!

Strictly speaking, "type restrictions" can be thought of as part of weapon balancing. If you don't have those, for example, you might have to make a certain weapon weaker (knowing that it can be equipped in large numbers, which can make a qualitative difference). So these restrictions are part of the balance, not external to it.

If there was a single "best" weapon for each type & size, that would indeed be bad - but the plan is to have several viable choices that fill different roles. For example, you can't say that either the Pulse Laser or the Graviton Beam is better than the other - one is a longer range support weapon, the other a short range assault one, but both fit into a medium energy slot.

The other aspect of having weapon types is that it provides ships with a more distinct feel and personality. For example, older-style hulls focus on ballistic weapons, while newer ones focus on energy weapons. Both types give you the tools to do the job, but in somewhat different ways.

Finally, the best part about rules is giving the player the power to break them It's quite likely that, say, Engineering skill will let you ignore some of the type restrictions.

[Mercurio]

Finally, the best part about rules is giving the player the power to break them It's quite likely that, say, Engineering skill will let you ignore some of the type restrictions.

Thats exactly what I meant.. Being able to alter the restrictions by some means, even if only by utilizing a certain skill, added costs or other drawbacks is fine.

Now I'm not sayin that you should be able to overcome the size restrictions (Mjolnir Cannon on an interceptor would be ridiculous). Its only the type restrictions, really..
Speaking of the technological aspect, it might be easier to refit an Onslaught to sport only ballistic autocannons because they're pretty oldschool, rather than, say, filling every weapon slot with pulse lasers. Maybe you'd have to up-tech the ship first (installing a rare and secret alien artifact power generator?) or sacrifice flux or shield capacity so it can handle the higher energy output.. Let us be creative when breaking rules xD